Method and system for translating programming languages

ABSTRACT

The present invention enable the language translation process involving more than one compilers to be completed entirely in memory, making it faster and more efficient. Two approaches can be adopted: the first approach employs a transformation component capable of generating a token stream from the parsed representation produced by the first compiler and providing it to the parser of the second compiler, skipping the “Optimization”, “Code Generation”, and “Write Output File” phases of the first compiler and the “Read Input File” and “Lexical Analysis” phases of the second compiler; The second approach passes the bit stream produced by the code generator of the first compiler directly to the lexical analyzer of the second compiler instead of writing the bit stream to disk and then reading it back from the disk, eliminating the “Write Output File” phase of the first compiler and the “Read Input File” phase of the second compiler. Both approaches are not limited to any particular source language or target language. This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention. Other features, aspects, and objects of the invention can be obtained from a review of the specification, the figures, and the claims.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority from the following application, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety:

U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/488,648, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSLATING PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES, by Kevin Zatloukal, filed Jul. 19, 2003 (Attorney Docket No. BEAS-01474US0).

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present invention disclosure relates to the field of compiler design and compiler optimization.

BACKGROUND

In general, a compiler can translate one computer programming language suitable for processing by humans (the source language) into another computer programming language suitable for processing by machines (the target language). Some computer programming languages may be translated in two phases, by compiling the source code in a first language into the code in a second language, then compiling the source code of the second language to the code in the desired target language. By way of a non-limiting example, Java® Server Page (JSP) files are generally compiled into Java® source files, which are then compiled by a standard Java® compiler into Java® byte codes (i.e., the target language). Usually, such language translation is accomplished with two compilers, which are invoked separately, each reading their input source file from and writing their object code as an output file back to a non-volatile storage, which can be but is not limited to, a hardware disk (referred to as disk). However, translating language source files in two different phases using two different compilers can be inefficient, especially when the output file of the first compiler is output to the disk and has to be input again from the disk by the second compiler.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary prior art compilation process involving a single compiler.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary prior art JSP translation process using two compilers.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an exemplary in memory language translation process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an exemplary in memory language translation process in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” or “some” embodiment(s) in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary prior art compilation process involving a single compiler. Although this figure depicts functional steps in a particular order for purposes of illustration, the process is not limited to any particular order or arrangement of steps. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps portrayed in this figure could be omitted, rearranged, combined and/or adapted in various ways.

Referring to FIG. 1, a single compiler takes a source file as input and produces an object code file as output. The exemplary compilation process can include the following phases:

-   -   The input source file is read by the compiler at step 101.     -   Lexical analysis (scanning) at step 102 translates a stream of         characters (the source code) into a stream of tokens. By way of         a non-limiting example, tokens in the C programming language         might include +, −, −>, int, and foo( ). In this example, the         first three tokens are operators (two arithmetic and a pointer         de-reference), the fourth is a keyword, and the last is an         identifier (used to name a function or variable).     -   Syntactic analysis (parsing) at step 103 determines if the         source code (represented by tokens) conforms to the syntax rules         of the programming language. By way of a non-limiting example, a         syntax rule for a particular language might require that a         multiplication operator has a left operand and a right operand.         A language grammar may be used to explicitly define the syntax         of a programming language. In addition, syntactic analysis can         produce a parsed representation of the source file to facilitate         further analysis and code generation (e.g., an abstract syntax         tree). The parsed representation may contain information about         the operators, operands and data types of language expressions         and statements in the source files.     -   Semantic analysis at step 104 examines the parsed representation         of the source file, judges whether or not the source code         adheres to the semantic rules of the programming language and         may augment the parsed representation of the source file with         additional information e.g. for subsequent compile phases. A         semantic rule, by way of a non-limiting example, might mandate         that an integer and an array cannot be multiplied together with         the * operator.     -   Code optimization at step 105 can improve the efficiency of the         code by applying specific optimizations to the parsed         representation of the source file. By way of a non-limiting         example, the optimizer may use techniques such as common         sub-expression elimination to identify and eliminate redundant         steps expressed in the source code.     -   Object code generation at step 106 generates the target language         for a specific computing platform (e.g., machine code for a         specific hardware architecture or byte codes for a specific         virtual machine).     -   An object code file can then be generated (e.g. a class or .exe         file) at step 107.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary prior art JSP translation process using two compilers instead of one. Although this figure depicts functional steps in a particular order for purposes of illustration, the process is not limited to any particular order or arrangement of steps. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps portrayed in this figure could be omitted, rearranged, combined and/or adapted in various ways.

Referring to FIG. 2, the JSP translation process can be divided into two compiling phases executed by two different compilers. In the first phase, a JSP compiler reads the JSP source file at step 201, performs lexical analysis at step 202, syntactic analysis at step 203, semantic analysis at step 204, optimization at step 205 and code generation at step 206 before writing the resulting Java® source file from memory to storage at step 207. In the second phase, a Java® compiler reads the Java® source file from disk back into memory at step 208 and again performs lexical analysis at step 209, syntactic analysis at step 210, semantic analysis at step 211, optimization at step 212 and code generation at step 213 before writing the final Java® class file to disk at step 214.

As is evident from the descriptions above, the process of compiling language source files using two different compilers (e.g., JSP and Java®) includes inherent inefficiencies. Most notably, since the first compiler (i.e., the JSP compiler) has a fully parsed representation of the Java® source file, it is inefficient to write the Java® source file to disk just so that the second compiler (i.e., the Java® compiler) has to read it from disk again and reproduce a parsed representation. In addition, it is inefficient to load and execute two separate compilation processes.

Embodiments of the present invention enable the language translation process involving more than one compilers to be completed entirely in memory, making it faster and more efficient. Two approaches can be adopted: in one embodiment, a transformation component is employed, which is capable of generating a token stream from the parsed representation of a source file produced by the first compiler and providing it to the parser of the second compiler, skipping the “Optimization”, “Code Generation”, and “Write Output File” phases of the first compiler and the “Read Input File” and “Lexical Analysis” phases of the second compiler; in another embodiment, the bit stream produced by the code generator of the first compiler is passed directly to the lexical analyzer of the second compiler instead of writing the bit stream to disk, then reading it back from the disk, eliminating the “Write Output File” phase of the first compiler and the “Read Input File” phase of the second compiler. It will be apparent to those skill in the art that both approaches are not limited to any particular source language or target language.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an exemplary in memory language translation process in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Although this figure depicts functional steps in a particular order for purposes of illustration, the process is not limited to any particular order or arrangement of steps. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps portrayed in this figure could be omitted, rearranged, combined and/or adapted in various ways.

Referring to FIG. 3, the black boxes represent processes traditionally carried out by a first compiler and the white boxes represent processes traditionally carried out by a second compiler. The compilation stages potentially eliminated by the exemplary process are highlighted in gray. The compilers and their components can communicate in a number of ways, including but not limited to: memory, database(s), file(s), network communication, and/or other suitable means.

Referring again to FIG. 3, after reading the source file at step 301, the first compiler performs one or more of lexical analysis at step 302, syntax analysis at step 303, semantic analysis at step 304 before generating a parsed representation (e.g., a parse tree) of the source file. Then, the parsed representation can be converted into a stream of tokens suitable for providing to the second compiler by a transformation component capable of generating tokens from parse tree at step 315. The parser of the second compiler may accept the token stream, perform one or more of syntactic analysis at step 311, semantic analysis at step 312, optimization at step 313 and then generate code at step 314.

In some embodiments, the “Optimization” (step 305), “Code Generation” (step 306), and “Write Output File” (step 307) phases of a first compiler and the “Read Input File” (step 308) and “Lexical Analysis” (step 309) phases of a second compiler may be omitted if the parsed representation of the first language produced by the first compiler is converted into a token stream and provided to the parser of the second compiler.

In some embodiments, the generation of tokens from a parse tree by the transformation component can be performed in memory. Such in-memory operation may avoid the inefficiency in computing resource utilization caused by writing the output file to a disk by the first compiler and reading the same file again from the disk by the second compiler.

In some embodiments, the transformation component may perform a traversal of the parse tree, in which zero or more tokens suitable for processing by the second compiler are emitted for each node in the parse tree generated by the first compiler. Such traversal may be implemented as an in-order tree traversal, a technique well known in the art.

In some embodiments, the parse tree generated by the first compiler may be adjusted before it is traversed in order to change the order in which nodes in the tree are processed. Such adjustment may be performed in order to account for, as non-limiting examples, differences in the ordering, precedence, semantics of operations and other suitable situations in the first and second languages.

In some embodiments, the creation of the transformation component may be facilitated by starting with the existing code generator of the first compiler and modifying it to generate tokens suitable for processing by the parser of the second compiler. Such an approach avoids the generation of a character stream suitable for processing by the lexical analyzer of the second compiler.

In some embodiments, the creation of the transformation component may be facilitated by starting with the existing lexical analyzer of the second compiler and modifying it to read its input directly from the parse tree of the first compiler instead of reading its input from a character stream, e.g. from disk.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an exemplary in memory language translation process in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. Although this figure depicts functional steps in a particular order for purposes of illustration, the process is not limited to any particular order or arrangement of steps. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the various steps portrayed in this figure could be omitted, rearranged, combined and/or adapted in various ways.

Referring to FIG. 4, the black boxes represent processes traditionally carried out by a first compiler and the white boxes represent processes traditionally carried out by a second compiler similar to FIG. 3. The compilation stages potentially eliminated by the exemplary process are highlighted in gray. The compilers and their components can communicate in a number of ways, including but not limited to: memory, database(s), file(s), network communication, and/or other suitable means.

Referring again to FIG. 4, steps 401-414 perform similar operations as steps 301-314 with the exception that the bit stream produced by the code generator of the first compiler at step 406 is passed directly to the lexical analyzer of the second compiler at step 409 instead of writing the bit stream to disk, then reading it back from the disk. Such adjustment may eliminate the “Write Output File” (step 407) phase of the first compiler and the “Read Input File” (step 408) phase of the second compiler and enable the entire language compilation process to be performed entirely in memory, making it faster and more efficient.

One embodiment may be implemented using a conventional general purpose or a specialized digital computer or microprocessor(s) programmed according to the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in the software art. The invention may also be implemented by the preparation of integrated circuits or by interconnecting an appropriate network of conventional component circuits, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

One embodiment includes a computer program product which is a storage medium (media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used to program a computer to perform any of the features presented herein. The storage medium can include, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical discs, DVD, CD-ROMs, microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, DRAMs, VRAMs, flash memory devices, magnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs), or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/or data.

Stored on any one of the computer readable medium (media), the present invention includes software for controlling both the hardware of the general purpose/specialized computer or microprocessor, and for enabling the computer or microprocessor to interact with a human user or other mechanism utilizing the results of the present invention. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, operating systems, execution environments/containers, and applications.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art. Particularly, while the concept “translation” or “translating” is used in the embodiments of the systems and methods described above, it will be evident that such concept can be interchangeably used with equivalent concepts such as, compilation or compiling, and other suitable concepts; while the concept “in memory” is used in the embodiments of the systems and methods described above, it will be evident that such concept can be interchangeably used with equivalent concepts such as, without accessing a disk, and other suitable concepts; while the concept “object code or file” is used in the embodiments of the systems and methods described above, it will be evident that such concept can be interchangeably used with equivalent concepts such as, executable code or file, and other suitable concepts. Embodiments were chosen and described in order to best describe the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention, the various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents. 

1. A system to provide programming language translation, comprising: a first compiler operable to compile a source file in a first programming language into a parsed representation; a second compiler operable to compile a token stream into an object code in a second programming language; and a transformation component operable to generate the token stream from the parsed representation produced by the first compiler and provide the token stream to the second compiler in memory without accessing a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein: each of the first, second and third programming language can be one of JSP, Java® source code, Java® class code, and Java® byte code.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein: the first compiler is operable to perform at least one of the following compilation phases: accepting the source file in the first programming language as its input file; lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; and semantic analysis.
 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein: the first compiler is operable to omit at least one of the following compilation phases: optimization; generating an object code in the third programming language; and writing the object code in the third programming language to the disk as its output file.
 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein: the second compiler is operable to perform at least one of the following compilation phases: syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; generating an object code in the second programming language; and writing the object code in the second programming language to the disk as its output file.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein: the second compiler is operable to omit at least one of the following compilation phases: accepting the object code in the third programming language at it input file; and lexical analysis.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein: the parsed representation processed by the transformation component can be a parse tree.
 8. The system according to claim 7, wherein: the order of nodes in the parse tree can be adjusted before the parse tree is processed by the transformation component.
 9. The system according to claim 7, wherein: the transformation component is further operable to generate the token stream by traversing the parse tree via an in-order tree traversal.
 10. A system to provide programming language translation, comprising: a first compiler operable to: compile a source file in a first programming language into a bit stream; and pass the bit stream directly to a second compiler in memory without writing the bit stream to a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language; and said second compiler operable to: accept the bit stream from the first compiler in memory without accessing the disk and/or utilizing the third programming language; and compile the bit stream into an object code in a second programming language.
 11. The system according to claim 10, wherein: each of the first, second and third programming language can be one of JSP, Java® source code, Java® class code, and Java® byte code.
 12. The system according to claim 10, wherein: the first compiler is operable to perform at least one of the following compilation phases: accepting the source file in the first programming language as its input file; lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; and generating the bit stream.
 13. The system according to claim 10, wherein: the first compiler is operable to omit a compilation phase of writing an object code in the third programming language to the disk as its output file.
 14. The system according to claim 10, wherein: the second compiler is operable to perform at least one of the following compilation phases: lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; generating the object code in the second programming language; and writing the object code in the second programming language to the disk as its output file.
 15. The system according to claim 10, wherein: the second compiler is operable to omit a compilation phase of accepting the object code in the third programming language as its input file.
 16. A method to provide programming language translation, comprising: compiling a source file in a first programming language into a parsed representation via a first compiler; compiling a token stream into an object code in a second programming language via a second compiler; and generating the token stream from the parsed representation produced by the first compiler and providing the token stream to the second compiler in memory via a transformation component without accessing a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: each of the first, second and third programming language can be one of JSP, Java® source code, Java® class code, and Java® byte code.
 18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: perform at least one of the following compilation phases via the first compiler: accepting the source file in the first programming language as its input file; lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; and semantic analysis.
 19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: omitting at least one of the following compilation phases via the first compiler: optimization; generating an object code in the third programming language; and writing the object code in the third programming language to the disk as its output file.
 20. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: performing at least one of the following compilation phases via the second compiler: syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; generating an object code in the second programming language; and writing the object code in the second programming language to the disk as its output file.
 21. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: omitting at least one of the following compilation phases via the first compiler: accepting the object code in the third programming language at it input file; and lexical analysis.
 22. The method according to claim 16, wherein: the parsed representation processed by the transformation component can be a parse tree.
 23. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: adjusting the order of nodes in the parse tree before the parse tree is processed by the transformation component.
 24. The method according to claim 22, further comprising: generating the token stream by traversing the parse tree via an in-order tree traversal.
 25. A method to provide programming language translation, comprising: compiling a source file in a first programming language into a bit stream and passing the bit stream directly to a second compiler in memory via a first compiler without writing the bit stream to a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language; and accepting the bit stream from the first compiler in memory and compiling the bit stream into an object code in a second programming language via a second compiler without accessing the disk and/or utilizing the third programming language.
 26. The method according to claim 25, wherein: each of the first, second and third programming language can be one of JSP, Java® source code, Java® class code, and Java® byte code.
 27. The method according to claim 25, further comprising: performing at least one of the following compilation phases via the first compiler: accepting the source file in the first programming language as its input file; lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; and generating the bit stream.
 28. The method according to claim 25, further comprising: omitting a compilation phase of writing an object code in the third programming language to the disk as its output via the first compiler.
 29. The method according to claim 25, further comprising: performing at least one of the following compilation phases via the second compiler: lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; generating the object code in the second programming language; and writing the object code in the second programming language to the disk as its output file.
 30. The method according to claim 25, further comprising: omitting a compilation phase of accepting the object code in the third programming language as its input file via the second compiler.
 31. A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor cause a system to: compile a source file in a first programming language into a parsed representation via a first compiler; compile a token stream into an object code in a second programming language via a second compiler; and generate the token stream from the parsed representation produced by the first compiler and provide the token stream to the second compiler in memory via a transformation component without accessing a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language.
 32. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein: each of the first, second and third programming language can be one of JSP, Java® source code, Java® class code, and Java® byte code.
 33. The machine readable medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: perform at least one of the following compilation phases via the first compiler: accepting the source file in the first programming language as its input file; lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; and semantic analysis.
 34. The machine readable medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: omit at least one of the following compilation phases via the first compiler: optimization; generating an object code in the third programming language; and writing the object code in the third programming language to the disk as its output file.
 35. The machine readable medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: perform at least one of the following compilation phases via the second compiler: syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; generating an object code in the second programming language; and writing the object code in the second programming language to the disk as its output file.
 36. The machine readable medium of claim 31, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: omit at least one of the following compilation phases via the first compiler: accepting the object code in the third programming language at it input file; and lexical analysis.
 37. The machine readable medium of claim 31, wherein: the parsed representation processed by the transformation component can be a parse tree.
 38. The machine readable medium of claim 37, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: adjust the order of nodes in the parse tree before the parse tree is processed by the transformation component.
 39. The machine readable medium of claim 37, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: generate the token stream by traversing the parse tree via an in-order tree traversal.
 40. A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor cause a system to: compile a source file in a first programming language into a bit stream and passing the bit stream directly to a second compiler in memory via a first compiler without writing the bit stream to a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language; and accept the bit stream from the first compiler in memory and compiling the bit stream into an object code in a second programming language via a second compiler without accessing the disk and/or utilizing the third programming language.
 41. The machine readable medium of claim 40, wherein: each of the first, second and third programming language can be one of JSP, Java® source code, Java® class code, and Java® byte code.
 42. The machine readable medium of claim 40, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: perform at least one of the following compilation phases via the first compiler: accepting the source file in the first programming language as its input file; lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; and generating the bit stream.
 43. The machine readable medium of claim 40, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: omit a compilation phase of writing an object code in the third programming language to the disk as its output via the first compiler.
 44. The machine readable medium of claim 40, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: perform at least one of the following compilation phases via the second compiler: lexical analysis; syntactic analysis; semantic analysis; optimization; generating the object code in the second programming language; and writing the object code in the second programming language to the disk as its output file.
 45. The machine readable medium of claim 40, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to: omit a compilation phase of accepting the object code in the third programming language as its input file via the second compiler.
 46. A system to provide programming language translation, comprising: means for compiling a source file in a first programming language into a parsed representation via a first compiler; means for compiling a token stream into an object code in a second programming language via a second compiler; and means for generating the token stream from the parsed representation produced by the first compiler and providing the token stream to the second compiler in memory via a transformation component without accessing a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language.
 47. A system to support programming language translation, comprising: means for compiling a source file in a first programming language into a bit stream and passing the bit stream directly to a second compiler in memory via a first compiler without writing the bit stream to a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language; and means for accepting the bit stream from the first compiler in memory and compiling the bit stream into an object code in a second programming language via a second compiler without accessing the disk and/or utilizing the third programming language.
 48. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising: a code segment including instructions to compile a source file in a first programming language into a parsed representation via a first compiler; a code segment including instructions to compile a token stream into an object code in a second programming language via a second compiler; and a code segment including instructions to generate the token stream from the parsed representation produced by the first compiler and provide the token stream to the second compiler in memory via a transformation component without accessing a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language.
 49. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising: a code segment including instructions to compile a source file in a first programming language into a bit stream and passing the bit stream directly to a second compiler in memory via a first compiler without writing the bit stream to a disk and/or utilizing a third programming language; and a code segment including instructions to accept the bit stream from the first compiler in memory and compiling the bit stream into an object code in a second programming language via a second compiler without accessing the disk and/or utilizing the third programming language. 